Gulf of Mexico Fishing Seasons and Closures

Commercial quota, fishing year, seasonal closures and current status of some Gulf of Mexico species.  Species not listed do not currently have seasonal closures or quotas. 

 

2012 Fishing Year

Species or species group	Commercial			Recreational			Aggregate ACL (Commercial and Recreational)
	Quota  or Allowance (1)	Seasonal closure	Harvest Status	Quota or ACL/ACT (1)	Seasonal closure	Harvest Status
Red Snapper	3,664,000 (2)	None	Open (3)	3,521,000 (2)	Jan 1-May 31; When Quota is Met Through December 31	Closed	n/a
Gag	430,000	None	Open (3)	1,232,000	Jan 1-June 30, November 1-December 31 (4)	Closed	n/a
Red Grouper	5,370,000	None	Open (3)	1,900,000	Feb 1-Mar 31	Open	n/a
Other Shallow-water Grouper (5)	509,000	None	Open (3)	n/a	Feb 1-Mar 31	Open	688,000
Deepwater Grouper (6)	1,127,000	None	Open (3)	n/a	None	Open	1,216,000
Tilefishes (7)	582,000	None	Open (3)	n/a	None	Open	608,000
Greater Amberjack	486,209 (8)	Mar 1-May 31	Closed	1,368,000	June 1-July 31	Open	n/a
Gray Triggerfish	106,000	None	Open	405,000	None	Open	n/a

(1) Quotas, catch allowances, and allocations for red snapper, greater amberjack, and gray triggerfish are in whole weight; all other quotas, catch allowances, and allocations are in gutted weight.

(2) Gulf Council has recommended increasing the commercial quota in 2012 to 4,121,000 lbs ww and increasing the recreational quota in 2011 to 3,959,000 lbs ww .

(3) These species are managed under an individual fishing quota (IFQ) program.

(4) Open July 1-October 31, each year

(5) Other Shallow-water Groupers include black grouper, yellowmouth grouper, scamp, and yellowfin grouper.

(6) Deepwater Grouper include warsaw grouper, snowy grouper, speckled hind, and yellowedge grouper.

(7) Tilefishes include goldface tilefish, blueline tilefish, and golden tilefish.

(8) Quota was reduced based on preliminary 2010 landings and is subject to change.

(9) January 1-April 30 closure of "The Edges" 40 fathom contour, a 390 nautical square mile region northwest of Steamboat Lumps.

Please Note: This summary is intended to provide appropriate information to fishers about regulations and the sustainable use of marine fishery resources in the Gulf of Mexico. This summary is for general information purposes. Fishery Regulations are subject to changes. For more information on fishery regulations consult the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 622 or the NOAA Fisheries Service Southeast Regional Office Fishery Regulation website.

This page provides only a summary of the information regarding the existing regulations. Any discrepancies between this information and the regulations as published in the Federal Register will be resolved in favor of the Federal Register.